Western Railway’s Mumbai Central division detected 94,919 cases of ticketless or irregular travel during a special 15-day checking campaign held over the Diwali and Chhath festival period, collecting ₹8.23 crore in penalties and other fare-related revenue.
The campaign, named Operation Deep, ran from 31 October to 14 November 2026. It was conducted to address unauthorised and irregular travel during a period when passenger numbers typically rise, while protecting railway revenue and enforcing travel rules, according to the report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai.
The railway collected ₹8,22,99,300 during the campaign, exceeding its target of ₹7,65,41,869 by 7.52 per cent. The reported total covers cases detected by ticket-checking teams across the Mumbai Central division during the special drive.
The campaign’s outcome also represented a substantial increase over the corresponding Diwali-period collection reported last year. Revenue from ticket checking during that period was ₹5.36 crore, compared with ₹8.23 crore this year. The report places the year-on-year increase at 53.6 per cent.
Operation Deep focused on passengers travelling without tickets or with irregular or invalid tickets. The campaign was introduced for the festive season, when additional demand for rail travel can increase pressure on services and make ticket compliance a more significant operational issue for the railway administration.
The 94,919 cases recorded during the drive indicate the scale of enforcement activity undertaken by railway ticket-checking teams during the period. The reported figures, however, do not provide a division-wise breakdown of cases, information on the types of irregularities detected, or the number of passengers who were prosecuted or otherwise dealt with under railway rules.
For commuters, the campaign reinforces the requirement to hold a valid ticket and comply with the conditions of travel while using Western Railway services. For the railway administration, the reported collection represents both an enforcement outcome and a recovery of revenue that would otherwise have been lost through unauthorised or irregular journeys.
The campaign ended on 14 November after the Mumbai Central division completed the scheduled 15-day operation. The reported next step is the continuation of routine ticket checking and enforcement under the railway’s regular operating arrangements.
